If you have a child / children who attend either of those primary schools you may wish to find out more about how this will affect them. While it is generally acknowledged that schools switching to academy status benefits from additional funding, there are concerns standards will not be maintained and reduction in oversight / accountability. Other concerns include :-

for deprived areas, by switching some schools to academies this leads to the risk of the local authority having precious funding directed away from state schools

they can set their own curriculum and schools already rated as outstanding by Ofsted will not be subject to further inspections by them

schools are able to set admissions policies based on aptitude for specific subjects, thus excluding many from the local area

Other schools in Haringey are also affected and there is a campaign in Haringey called Haringey Campaign Against Academies (HCAA), click here for their website.

Whether you submit a petition through HCAA or respond to the council’s consultation, please do sent us a copy of your email or letter to noelpark.nara@gmail.com. It will also be good for you to write to our ward councillors whose details can be found on our blog, click here.

For more information on the pros and cons of a school converting to academy status please visit the following websites.

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3 Responses to “ACADEMY STATUS FOR WOOD GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOLS”

I would like to see Noel Park School and more schools in Haringey become academies. It is good for schools to break away from the poor record of Haringey Council and manage their own affairs without political control from whichever party is in power at the time. Haringey’s record on services for children has a bad record.

I do not believe there is extra funding. Whilst early converter schools got additional windfall funding, the LA told NPPS parents there is no extra funding. There have to be costs associated with such a radical change so I can see this having a detrimental effect on school budgets.

Noel Park and other schools are being threatened with becoming forced academies. There is no consultation; the school has been told to agree or have the governing body removed and the DoE will bring it’s own people in. Whether or not one agrees with academies, to treat a community school and it’s stakeholders in this way is disgraceful. The school is being bullied into doing what Michael Gove wants. They have not allowed consultation to enable them to make the case for academy status and explain how they would produce the much talked about rise in standards. It’s completely undemocratic and counter to any talk of the ‘Big Society’ – whatever that is. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. These are community schools and the DoE wants to take them about of the community and hand them over to…who knows who. Michael Gove has the final decision on any sponsor so it could be anyone he favours. The community needs to protest at the way this is being done. The government need to be held to account. While we are sleeping the DoE is taking away our say in our children’s education. We should stand up to bullies.